Allostatic load may be defined as the cumulative measure of dysregulation across multiple physiological systems. In the allostatic load model, increased disease risk is hypothesized to result not only from large and clinically significant dysregulation in individual systems, but also from more modest dysregulation, if present in multiple systems. The main hypothesis of this proposal is that subjects of Caribbean Hispanic (CH) origin living in the United States have an increased allostatic load, primarily due to the high prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in this population as well as other measures of inflammation and stress resulting from the increased frequency in these CH subjects of genetic variants that hamper their adaptation to a "Westernized" lifestyle, including diets dramatically different to those traditionally consumed in the rural areas of their ancestral cultures (gene-diet interaction) and differences in social interactions (gene-behavior interactions. The primary objective of this study is to identify the genetic basis underlying the impaired adaptation of Caribbean Hispanics (CH) to changes in life style habits resulting from their acculturation to the continental US. For this purpose, we will evaluate the association between about 140 common genetic variants at 23 candidate gene loci and measures of allostatic load, stress, inflammation, behavior and cognitive function in 1625 CH selected according to the criteria of the parent application. Little is known about the frequency of the proposed genetic variants and their association with the outcome variables in the CH population. Therefore, we will 1. Study the distribution of the SNPs and haplotypes within the proposed genes. 2. Explore the relationship between these SNPs and haplotypes and measures of allostatic load, stress, inflammation, behavior and cognitive function. Finally, we will investigate the interaction between gene variants and haplotypes at the proposed loci, and the response to dietary or behavioral intervention in subgroups of this cohort. This research should provide the basis for targeted prevention and alleviate the individual and public health burden imposed by accelerated aging in this population.